Blue straggler star (BSS) candidates have been observed in all old dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs), however whether or not they are authentic BSSs or young stars has been a point of debate. To both address this issue and obtain a better understanding of the formation of BSSs in different environments, we have analysed a sample of BSS candidates

Context: The historic plates of the Carte du Ciel, an international cooperative project launched in 1887, offers valuable first-epoch material for determining of absolute proper motions. Aims: We present an original method of digitizing and astrometrically reducing Carte du Ciel plate material using an inexpensive flatbed scanner, to demonstrate

Context: The physical interpretation of scattering line polarization offers a novel diagnostic window for exploring the thermal and magnetic structure of the quiet regions of the solar atmosphere. Aims: We evaluate the impact of isotropic collisions with neutral hydrogen atoms on the scattering polarization signals of the 13 lines of multiplet 42

We present absorption line strength maps for a sample of 18 Sb-Sd galaxies observed using the integral-field spectrograph SAURON operating at the William Herschel Telescope on La Palma, as part of a project devoted to the investigation of the kinematics and stellar populations of late-type spirals, a relatively unexplored field. The SAURON spectral

While Abell 43 is entering the PG 1159 instability strip, in fact as an "hybrid-PG 1159" nucleus of a planetary nebula, PG 0122+200 presently defines its red edge. So these two stars define the limits of the instability strip along the evolutionary sequence from the planetary nebula nuclei to the pre-white dwarf PG 1159 stars. We describe the new

We present the results of a deep wide-field near-infrared survey of 12 deg2 of the Pleiades conducted as part of the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS) Galactic Cluster Survey (GCS). We have extracted over 340 high-probability proper motion (PM) members down to 0.03 Msolar using a combination of UKIDSS